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Located on Florida’s Emerald Coast between Pensacola Beach and Downtown Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Florida is a community-oriented suburb suitable for all ages and lifestyles. With its proximity to numerous beaches, local and major businesses, and surrounding attractions, Gulf Breeze offers access to plenty of outdoor activities, entertainment, and job opportunities. D.R. Horton offers new homes in Gulf Breeze so that you can settle into the area with the confidence of an adaptable floorplan, smart home technology, and brand-new materials and appliances.

Why choose Gulf Breeze, Florida

Gulf Breeze is an excellent option for those who appreciate the beach lifestyle, want a more relaxed place to call home, and desire convenience. At the end of the Fairpoint peninsula, Gulf Breeze boasts 18 miles of waterfront, multiple protected bayous, several hundred acres of parkland, and just a two-mile drive across the bridge to Pensacola Beach. You can also spend your evenings and weekends at one of many community events, or pop over to Downtown Pensacola, just seven miles away, to enjoy a more upbeat city scene.

Proximity to Pensacola also provides easy access to a broader range of employment opportunities, shops, entertainment, and restaurants, so you’ll always have options near your new home in Gulf Breeze, FL. When it’s time to get out of town for work or leisure, the Pensacola International Airport is only about 10 miles from Gulf Breeze.

Community activities in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Gulf Breeze’s location within the Pensacola Metropolitan Area allows for a wide range of nearby entertainment. Still, the community-oriented atmosphere also provides plenty of activities and events without leaving town. Many of these events also support local businesses and organizations, so you can help your community while having fun.

Dog-lovers and Mardi Gras enthusiasts can enjoy the annual Krewe of Mutts Parade in Gulf Breeze. Many attendees dress themselves and their dogs in Mardi Gras gear and take to the streets in a parade of paws. The parade includes a costume contest and a lot of cuteness, but the event's main goal is to show off the local services available to dogs and their owners. The streets are lined with vendors like dog rescues, pet stores, vets and animal hospitals, groomers, dog trainers, and more, helping you find the best resources for your furry friend.

If you can’t get enough costumed fun, Gulf Breeze hosts its annual Breeze-O-Ween celebration around Halloween, which is fun for the whole family. Along with the obligatory candy and treats, the event includes pumpkin carving contests, face painting, spooky storytime, food vendors, local business stands, and local artists selling their crafts.

Local artists also participate in the annual, two-day Gulf Breeze Arts Festival. Each year, the city of Gulf Breeze and Gulf Breeze Arts, Inc., which supports local artists and arts programming, come together to host over 100 local, regional, and national fine artists. The event shows off artists' work while providing an avenue to sell it. It also includes food vendors, a children’s art show, a local artists' show, a charity raffle, and live artist demonstrations. All city proceeds from the Gulf Breeze Arts Festival are donated to support the area’s arts culture, funding local art scholarships for college and local school fine arts department supplies.

If cooking or eating delicious food is more your thing, Gulf Breeze hosts several annual cook-off events. The Rotary Gumbo Festival features an all-you-can-eat style contest, with gumbo samples from over 20 local cooks or cooking teams, including professional chefs. If gumbo isn’t your favorite or you need a change of cuisine throughout the day, the festival also offers hamburgers and hot dogs, and you can wash it all down with a soda, beer, or glass of wine. The Rotary Gumbo Festival also features live music, raffle tickets, and a silent auction. The money raised at the event is used toward scholarships for Gulf Breeze High School seniors. Similarly, the Grilling in the Breeze cookoff in Gulf Breeze, a competitive grilling event with food, music, and a raffle, donates the proceeds to organizations that benefit the area’s children and youth.

Each spring, artists, chefs, and vendors come together yet again at the Gulf Breeze Spring Festival. The event includes food, beer, art, live music, bounce houses, laser tag, archery, animals, and more, finishing off with a fireworks display. At year’s end, the Jolly Holiday Market presents artists, local businesses, and vendors one last time before starting over the following year.

Outdoor recreation in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Located on the Fairpoint Peninsula with miles of waterfront and parkland, Gulf Breeze has plenty of outdoor recreation, from relaxing on the beach to going for a long-distance hike. There are over 500 acres designated for recreational use in Gulf Breeze, the largest of which is the 155-acre Shoreline Park. This park includes a splash pad, playground, athletic fields, tennis courts, an 18-hole disc golf course, a skate park, sand volleyball and basketball courts, just under two miles of paved trails, and more. Shoreline Park has a unique beachfront dog park where your four-legged friends can play in the sand or swim off-leash. Plenty of other parks in the area have various activities, like playgrounds, picnic areas, bayou access, fishing piers, kayak launches, open space, tennis and pickleball courts, and more.

If you seek a more natural outdoor experience, you can check out the Gulf Islands National Seashore, a nature preserve off the Gulf known for its beautiful beaches, historic forts, and marshes. With 160 miles of coastline protected by the National Park Service at Gulf Islands National Seashore, you can spend all day enjoying the natural beauty, whether you choose to bike, swim, fish, snorkel, boat, birdwatch, take part in a ferry cruise, camp, learn about the history, or hike. A popular hiking route is the Brackenridge Nature Trail to the Fishing Trail, a combined 3.2-mile out-and-back forest trail with beach access. This is also the beginning–or the end–of the Florida Trail, a 1,500-mile, state-wide trail. The Florida Trail is split into four regions, each offering unique views and terrain.

There are plenty of beaches to enjoy in and around Gulf Breeze. In addition to the coastline at Gulf Island Seashore, residents enjoy easy access to white sand beaches and emerald waters at Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach.

Job opportunities in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Though Gulf Breeze, FL has a suburban atmosphere, it offers a diverse economy and job market. Thanks to Santa Rosa County schools and a network of Baptist Health Care clinics and hospitals in Gulf Breeze, education and healthcare are popular employment industries in the city. Another popular avenue is local government, which provides a wide range of employment. Gulf Breeze also offers various jobs in the retail, tourism, and recreation industries.

As part of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area and just over seven miles from Pensacola, residents also have access to the major employers and industries of higher-populated cities. Still represented mainly by the education and healthcare sectors, Pensacola provides additional clinics, hospitals, and higher education opportunities at schools like the University of West Florida. Other major area employers include the Department of Defense, Navy Federal Credit Union, Amazon, GE Vernova, and more.

New construction homes in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Gulf Breeze, Florida’s community-oriented suburban environment, offers convenient access to beautiful beaches, a variety of entertainment, and everyday necessities like major employers, shopping, dining, and schools. D.R. Horton’s new Gulf Breeze homes for sale make settling into this relaxed yet convenient location simple, with spacious open floorplans that fit any lifestyle. Browse our Gulf Breeze new home listings, or contact us for more information.